The East Neuk

Sunday 8th March, 2020. Rainbow over Earlsferry iPhone

We love a road trip and had been promising ourselves a little get-away day for the past couple of weeks. Having worked together all morning to tidy the house, we finally sorted the camera gear and jumped in the car to head up the coast of Fife towards the East Neuk and the little town of Earlsferry.

Earlsferry

We went to the shore at the Western edge of the town to exercise ourselves and our gear. Kara was keen to get some long exposures and I went looking for contrast as I had both the Fuji GW and Nikon FM loaded with black and white film¹. This is Bass Rock, taken with the Fuji:

Bass Rock through wall Fuji GW690ii, Ilford Pan F Plus 50 f/22 at 1/15s

The same view, in Delta 400, taken with the Nikon FM and post-processed in Capture One Pro:

Bass Rock Nikon FM AI-s 28mm f/2.8, Delta 400 f/22 at 1/125s. Yellow filter.

The difference between the above two images goes beyond what you see, which is as much down to what I did with the image after it was developed as it is the difference in the two cameras. The Fuji is a medium format camera and produces negatives which are 6cm by 9cm in size: six times larger than those produced in the 35mm Nikon FM. This only really makes a difference if you want to make very large prints from the negatives, when the limitations of the photographer are as significant as anything else. This, I think, will torment me for the next few years as I develop and learn. What this big Fuji isn't going to do, I am learning, is give me 350 mega-pixel images in super-sharp crispy detail, not at least until I learn how to manage and operate the equipment better.

The Nikon made some more good images of the wonderful coastline here. I was using a Tiffen yellow filter to give contrast and texture in the sky at the same time as sustaining details in the shadows.

The Forth Nikon FM AI-s 28mm f/2.8, Delta 400 f/16 at 1/125s. Yellow filter.

St.Monans and Anstruther

St Monans is famous for its zig-zag breakwater but is also where Kara's family have deep fishing roots. We drove around the town and enjoyed a brilliant sky as the weather pushed and tugged at the air over the Forth Estuary, making rainshafts, cloud patterns, whooping, whacking waves on the rocks and double bows over the Eastern landscape. Food lust overcame us, so we headed for the world-famous Anstruther chippie and enjoyed proper fish and chips in the car as it got dark.